{"id":13856,"date":"2020-05-06T12:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T16:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/?p=13856"},"modified":"2020-05-18T01:09:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T05:09:25","slug":"as-summer-approaches-can-we-go-outside-in-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/as-summer-approaches-can-we-go-outside-in-the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"As summer approaches, can we go outside in the COVID-19 pandemic?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As the season changes and the weather warms, people in isolation are asking \u2014 COVID-19 or not \u2014 can I go outside?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t go out unless you absolutely have to,\u201d Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged on Monday. \u201cAnd if you do, keep two metres apart from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trudeau\u2019s warning stands in stark contrast to that of provincial health officer Bonnie Henry, who last week urged residents of British Columbia \u2014 the province that has planked the curve \u2014 to \u201cgo outside\u201d but practise social distancing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk that someone who is sick spreads this virus from coughing or sneezing outside and you walk by them very quickly, even when it is within six feet, that risk is negligible,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Experts sided with Henry and reaffirmed that going outside \u2014 taking in the warm weather and sunlight \u2014 is good for health.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The chance of) catching this virus outside, when you\u2019re out in the environment and out in nature is small,\u201d said Narveen Jandu, a professor at the University of Waterloo\u2019s School of Public Health and Health Systems. \u201cBecause the virus is not transmitted via insects, nor is it in streams or the grass, people need not worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craig Janes, the director of the school, pointed out that people are at highest risk of catching COVID-19 in cluster settings, such as longterm care facilities, hospitals and even at home if there\u2019s a case of infection. Going outside, just to simply be outside, poses no greater risk.<\/p>\n

In fact, Janes said he believes that provincial restrictions limiting access to parks, trails and other public areas may be detrimental to people\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

<\/img>

\nThe High Park off leash dog park is closed in Toronto on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Ontario has closed recreation areas due to the coronavirus also known as COVID-19.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Nathan Denette<\/span> \/ <\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With conservation areas taped off and footpaths blocked, people are forced to stroll through their residential neighbourhoods where they encounter others every three minutes during a 20-minute walk.<\/p>\n

Opening parks and trails would allow people to more widely disperse, he said, which is a key factor to limiting transmission of a virus such as COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re otherwise healthy and you\u2019re going outside in nature, there\u2019s low risk of (getting) COVID-19,\u201d Jandu said. \u201cBut if you stay inside for an extended period of time, there\u2019s a greater risk to your mental health and wellness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The differences in messaging may seem confusing, but Jandu advised that the novelty of virus means there is still much to learn and individuals relaying the messaging \u201care doing the best with the information they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome provinces have few cases, while others have a more dire situation,\u201d she said, so the information depends on their own situations. Trudeau, on the other hand, has to consider the \u201chealth and wellness of the \u2026 entire population of Canada,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

<\/img>

\nPedestrians wearing a masks walk past Canada\u2019s National Ballet School on Jarvis Street in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, May 4, 2020.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Peter J Thompson\/National Post<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vivek Goel, who teaches at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the University of Toronto, agrees it\u2019s fine to go outdoors, as long as people take precautions such as physical distancing, proper hygiene and self-isolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese precautions \u2026 will need to be continued to be taken until we have higher levels of population immunity, which is not going to happen for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Ontario and Quebec \u2014 the worst-hit provinces \u2014 residents are allowed to take walks and exercise outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut plan it,\u201d said David Williams, Ontario\u2019s chief medical officer. This means, picking a time and location where one can avoid crowds and maintain the two-metre distance. If you can\u2019t avoid crowds, wear a mask, he added.<\/p>\n

Quebec has announced plans to gradually reopen the economy, with some retail stores already beginning to open. However, rules around physical distancing remain the same, according to Premier Francois Legault.<\/p>\n

<\/img>

\nShoppers wait in line outside a Staples Canada Inc. Bureau En Gros store in Quebec City on May 4, 2020, the date on which the province let stores outside of Montreal resume business as long as they have a street entrance, because enclosed shopping centres remain closed.<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

Christinne Muschi\/Bloomberg<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alberta\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Deena Hinshaw advised residents to \u201ctry to not leave your neighbourhood\u201d when going outside. \u201cAvoid contact with people you don\u2019t live with, that\u2019s very simple,\u201d she told reporters on April 21. \u201cThe challenge comes when people start to pre-plan gatherings \u2026 lots of people going to a place where they don\u2019t normally live.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as Saskatchewan, have eased restrictions on certain outdoor activities, allowing people to golf, fish and hunt.<\/p>\n

Nova Scotians may also visit trails and municipal and provincial parks, but are advised to exercise caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do drive to a park and there\u2019s already a significant number of vehicles there, please don\u2019t stop, go somewhere else,\u201d said Robert Strang, Nova Scotia\u2019s chief medical officer of health.<\/p>\n

Manitoba\u2019s announcement to reopen several public spaces \u2014 playgrounds, tennis courts, campgrounds, parks \u2014 comes with heavier enforcement and education of public safety measures as of May 8.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: The article has been updated to reflect a change in one of Narveen Jandu\u2019s quote. The original quote said, \u201cBut if you stay inside, there\u2019s a greater risk to your mental health and wellness.\u201d The updated quote now reads, \u201cBut if you stay inside for an extended period of time, there\u2019s a greater risk to your mental health and wellness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n<\/hr>\n

Listen to our news podcast, 10\/3, on Apple Podcasts\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the season changes and the weather warms, people in isolation are asking \u2014 COVID-19 or not \u2014 can I go outside?\u201cDon\u2019t go out unless you absolutely have to,\u201d Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged on Monday. \u201cAnd if you do, keep two metres apart from each other.\u201dTrudeau\u2019s warning stands in stark contrast to that of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[120,162,161,157],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13856"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15580,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13856\/revisions\/15580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airpurifierspecialist.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}